At least one Evertonian came out of the game against Southampton happy as a USA-based Blue fulfilled his lifelong quest to watch his team in the flesh at Goodison Park, over a year on from being denied first time around. Back in late 2021, Strohmann Breeding, from Lexington, Kentucky, made a football pilgrimage to Merseyside as a detour on his parents’ European trip but ended up going home without seeing a kick.
Strohmann and his college professor father drove up from London to Liverpool after he woke up at 5am two months earlier to purchase tickets for Everton’s home fixture against Newcastle United. The pair had already had to contend with the game being put back two days’ from its original date but a coronavirus outbreak in the Magpies squad ended any hopes of them watching the Blues in the flesh on December 30.
The rearranged game was eventually played on March 17 with 10-man Everton, now under Frank Lampard rather than former Magpies boss Rafael Benitez, triumphing 1-0 thanks to Alex Iwobi’s goal some nine minutes into 14 minutes of stoppage time but Strohmann, who is a graduate student at Ohio University studying law, justice and culture, had long since gone back across the Atlantic Ocean. After hearing how he missed out though, the club arranged for him to have a VIP tour of the ground before he left and determined to watch Everton at ‘The Grand Old Lady’ before the move to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, the 25-year-old was back to take in their match against Southampton, with a couple of fellow Stateside Blues in tow.
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Joined by Wesley Prewett and John Paul Gairhan, both of Little Rock, Arkansas, Strohmann was delighted to finally sample the Goodison matchday experience, even if it came at a deeply-troubling time for the club. He told the ECHO: “I brought along two college buddies of mine and they are both huge Toffees.
“We had such a wonderful time given the circumstances and enjoyed our memorable interactions with so many Blues. They had us on the field and we got to meet Ian Snodin.
“It was an incredible time full of chants and conversations with Blues. Despite the outcome, it was the trip of a lifetime and it’s neat it came full circle for me.”
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